Yue and Siuth disappeared soon after, presumably to deal with the most aggressive of Ulysses’ supporters who might try to block their way. Or to prepare in case our attempt goes wrong. Who knows with the Elder?

  Orion wasn’t sure how a witch’s presence could be justified here, but he trusted the old woman to know what she was doing, so he pushed it out of his mind for now.

  Set led them into the main building of the Collegium, and Orion had to suppress his instinct to gape at the extreme architectural feats. If they succeeded tonight, he’d become the son of the unofficial leader of the faction, which meant he could probably get as many guided tours as he wanted.

  “Our destination is the Tower of the Deeper Mysteries, which sits at the far back of the Collegium. We must make haste, as even with some disruption, the Senate will convene before midnight.” Set explained as they marched through the corridors, the sound of their footsteps echoing oddly all around them, as if these halls were not meant to be so empty.

  Asteria let out a deep breath as they took a turn and went further in, and Orion knew she had reached some kind of decision.

  “Moonbeam, listen to me carefully,” she said, her voice steely. All doubts were gone, and he gave her his full attention. “Your father isn’t an easy man. He’s stubborn, arrogant, and incredibly self-centered, but he has a sense of fairness and understands duty like few others.”

  The two of them had already had several conversations about the man, but each time he was mentioned, Asteria tried her best to avoid talking about him directly, treating him more like a stranger she was only distantly connected to.

  This was the first time Orion had ever heard her speak so clearly about who he was, instead of just what he represented.

  “There is no way he hasn’t already considered the implications of Ulysses taking on the mantle of Speakership, and that he hasn’t moved means he’s either already struck an agreement or decided it’s not worth involving himself,” she continued, and while he appreciated her candor, she wasn’t painting a very rosy picture.

  If Antares was in cahoots with Ulysses, then they were wasting their time. But if things were really as dire as Set made them seem, he doubted it.

  “I believe the latter is more likely. The man I know, whom I’ve traveled through Cyril with for years, would not have accepted a simple bribe, and since he hasn’t backed Ulysses, it means there hasn’t been a big enough offer yet.” Her voice grew more pained then, but she pressed on, undeterred by old wounds. “He will already have calculated tonight’s vote’s consequences, but if there’s one thing he’s never been good at, it’s incorporating his emotions into his plans.”

  That was starting to become uncomfortably close to something he’d use to describe himself, but Orion simply nodded, indicating he was listening even as they took another sharp left turn, leaving the open corridors for a narrower path that was likely used by servants.

  “He did the same with me. His orders were clear, and he followed them from the start. He reported everything about me. But at the same time, he was never supposed to get me pregnant, nor to become attached. And for all that I hated him for spying on me and betraying my trust, I never believed he was lying about what he felt. Your father is a very complicated man, whose incredibly rational mind dominates almost everything.”

  Yes, Orion could see it now. In a different life, he had completely isolated himself to avoid the connections he knew would make him irrational, and it seemed Antares was very similar.

  However, he couldn’t exactly ignore his only son, especially when the resemblance was so uncanny beyond just physical looks.

  That would be the bait. The real catch would require an honest conversation, a request from child to parent, that he had no idea how it would turn out. If what she’s saying is true, bluntly asking for his help won't work.

  Yes, there was no other option. Asteria was right to say that Antares would have already considered all the logical sides of the issue. The only thing they could aim for was his irrational side, however small it might be.

  A faint light appeared in the distance, and soon they entered what seemed to be an inner courtyard, too small and decorated to serve as a distribution center for servants. The colonnade surrounding it made it clear this was a private space, likely for students to rest between lessons.

  “Come on, we need to get through this area and we’ll be very close,” Set urged them, but before they could make for the distant exit, someone materialized between them and it.

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  It was a younger man, whose physical age could have been anywhere between late twenties and early thirties, but something about the way he held himself told Orion he wasn’t what he looked like.

  “Archmage Theses,” Set murmured, holding a hand up to stop them.

  “Suketh, spinning your webs as always, are you? I thought you would have learned your lesson after being exiled for so long, but it seems you're just as stuck in your ways as you claimed Mallon was.”

  Amusement clearly shone through, and Orion had no trouble identifying this man as one of the most dangerous he had ever encountered. He wasn't sure how his power ranked, but his blatant brazenness and disregard for a crucial moment in the Magocracy’s future made him extremely cautious.

  “Archmage Theses is the foremost expert in sensory magic of the Collegium,” Set explained tensely, and Orion felt his eyes widen.

  “Were we set up?” he asked, earning a slow clap from the other man.

  “Good, good. We didn’t know how you would react, of course. You are far too cunning to be that predictable, but it was clear you would try something, so at the Venerable Archmage’s request, I set up shop to make sure everything went smoothly. Am I not such a kind man?”

  Orion exchanged a sidelong glance with his mother and saw the same worry he felt mirrored in her eyes. Power made some men go wild, but this wasn’t that. It was a more calculated, sadistic kind of glee that was rare, and they had little power to stop. Not without attracting far too much attention.

  What can we do? Attacking him is impossible. The Collegium is by far the strongest faction, and two members of the Sanctum, along with a renegade Archmage, attacking a loyal member will definitely trigger their full force against us.

  Theses seemed to revel in their indecision, his smile growing wider with each passing second, until he finally broke into chuckles. “Alright, I had my fun. You two, go on.”

  Blinking, Orion had to fight the instinct to ask the man to repeat what he’d just said.

  “Ah,” Set sighed, shoulders relaxing. “So you are here on Mallon’s request, not Ulysses.”

  Theses shrugged, putting his hands in his robe’s pockets and twirling around, looking like a careless child. “Why not both? The old man has asked me to prevent any meddling on your part, but even I know better than to get in the middle of the upcoming family reunion. So you two, go on. I will keep the old spider company, worry not.”

  Orion hesitated for a moment, but seeing Set’s encouraging look, he stepped forward, followed by his mother, who moved to stand between him and Theses.

  That only seemed to amuse the man more, but he refrained from more comments, merely waggling his fingers.

  Does this mean Mallon wants us to reach Antares? Or maybe he doesn’t care about the outcome and just wants Set kept away from the decision.

  The path beyond the cloister was fairly simple, as the tower Set had indicated to host Antares could be seen looming above them through the side windows of the new corridor, and before long, they reached its base.

  Only a crystalline door separated them from their target, but when Orion checked it with [Verification Principle], he could immediately tell there was no way to force their way through.

  “It’s enchanted enough to resist a siege,” he muttered, earning a nod from his mother.

  “It’d take a magical bombardment several hours to break it down, and that is if it couldn’t tap into the Collegium’s wards for extra power. No, going through isn’t possible.” She replied, but didn’t seem ready to give in to despair yet.

  “Should we make a racket? Others are sure to notice, but he’ll probably come out before we can be taken away,” Orion suggested.

  Asteria shook her head, running her hands over the crystalline structure and examining its make. It didn’t appear to be an active scan, as he couldn’t sense any spell, but he allowed her to work, knowing he was useless here.

  Eventually, her lips quirked up, and she closed her eyes, as if fighting back some old emotion she couldn’t quite face. “To think he’d still be like this.”

  Before Orion could ask what she meant, Asteria flicked a dagger against her hand, and a few drops of her blood landed on the crystal handle.

  For a moment, nothing happened, and he had to wonder what she expected. If this door was keyed genetically, however unlikely that might be, then it should have used his own blood, not hers.

  But he didn't need to ask because something flashed in the crystal all around them, and the door swung open, letting them in.

  “What was that?” he murmured, eyeing the tower's dark interior warily as a subtle feeling of oppression spread around them. The ground floor was an almost empty space, filled only with a few scattered tables and chairs, likely used for lessons for a few special pupils, given their number.

  Considering that he had counted at least twenty rows of windows, each tall enough to be worth two or even three in a typical building, he wondered what his father was doing with all this space.

  “Your father was never one to change something that worked without reason. He used to tell me that change for its own sake is just as worthless as remaining still for the sake of tradition. When I told him I was pregnant with you, he gave me a gift. He used to keep his stuff locked up with extremely powerful spells, and more than once, one of us nearly died because I couldn’t access his supplies. So he finally keyed me in. It’s how I was able to find he had been spying on me in the first place,” she revealed, staring away, and Orion gave her a few moments to compose herself while he filed that new piece of information in the profile he’d made of Antares.

  Asking why he hadn’t changed the locking enchantment probably wouldn’t get him an answer, and they were short on time anyway.

  A huge, spiraling staircase appeared to be the only way up, and Orion could see through [Verification Principle] that a powerful spell was blocking all magical travel, forcing them to climb the traditional way.

  He hurriedly began his ascent, already feeling exhausted both physically and mentally, but also eager to get on with it. The stakes were very high, but so were the rewards, and he couldn’t help but feel a thrill from that.

  He heard his mother following behind him, and together they left the dark first floor.

  The second was entirely different, if in an expected way. Warm wooden floors, cozy nooks, and more books than even Orion could count at a glance clearly made it a library.

  A light was on at the far end of the room, and Orion hurried over, already reviewing the speech he’d been working on.

  When he arrived there, he saw shock white hair and steadied his heart, only to feel it stop when he realized they weren’t attached to a man who shared his features, but to a girl.